Telenet is investing in a solution for the proliferation of programmes at work

Thursday, May 4, 2017 — Telco company Telenet is investing in Antwerp-based company Spencer. They developed an app that should boost productivity and comfort in the workplace. Spencer calls itself "Google Now for companies and employees". With this participation, Telenet is clearly aiming to bank on other services than telecom.

If you don't want to be left behind, you need to go online. Most companies now understand that full well. Asking for days off? Open this programme. Submitting your expenses? Use that application. And approving a purchase order? Surf to this website. The result? A tangle of tabs and windows on your PC. A study conducted by research agency Forrester (2016) found that no less than 62 % of employees postpone tasks if they require logging in to different systems. Even though all those applications should increase productivity and working comfort, the inverse is often true.

A personal assistant That's why Telenet is investing in what should be the solution for that spider's web of software. Spencer brings all of that information from programmes, applications, and websites together into one easy to use application, a mobile workplace assistant. So instead of logging into different systems, your personal assistant can now set up your out-of-office, book a meeting room or tell you what’s for lunch in the company restaurant.

"Young people have sky-high expectations and hope the applications in their workplace will correspond to the advanced technologies in their private lives," say CEOs Tom Vroemans and Maarten Raemdonck. "We think of Spencer as Google Now for big companies—it connects you to all the tools and data you need, anytime and anywhere you like. For the time being, we're the only company in Europe to offer this solution."

New market for Telenet Spencer is a spin-off of innovative Antwerp company November Five, and was co-developed by BASE Company, before that was taken over by Telenet. Spencer came into Telenet's sights and that's how the participation came to be.

“We're a 3,200-strong company, and we ourselves see the need for such a tool," says Dieter Nieuwdorp, Telenet's Senior Vice-President Strategy & Corporate Development. Is the investment one of the telco company's new strategies? “We quickly understood that Spencer is a fine opportunity. This investment fits in our long-term strategy to support the sustainable growth of innovative start-ups and digital entrepreneurs through the Telenet Kickstart program. In the long run, we might also offer Spencer to our own customers.”

For now, Spencer is focusing on companies with more than 2.000 employees. Telenet, Proximus, and DEME already number among its customers.

Spencer has been selected to present itself at tech and start-up event The Next Web, in Amsterdam on 18 and 19 May.

November Five is an Antwerp-based, privately owned digital agency with an all-encompassing love for business, design and technology. Started by four complementary founders in 2009, they can now count on more than 60 fast and furious team members serving major clients like AB InBev, Spotify, Coca-Cola & The New York Times.

About Telenet – As a provider of entertainment and telecommunication services in Belgium, Telenet Group is always looking for the perfect experience in the digital world for its customers. Under the brand name Telenet, the company focuses on offering digital television, high-speed Internet and fixed and mobile telephony services to residential customers in Flanders and Brussels. Under the brand name BASE, it supplies mobile telephony in Belgium. The Telenet Business department serves the business market in Belgium and Luxembourg with connectivity, hosting and security solutions. More than 3,000 employees have one aim in mind: making living and working easier and more pleasant. Telenet Group is part of Telenet Group Holding NV and is quoted on Euronext Brussel under ticker symbol TNET. For more information, visit www.telenet.be. Telenet is 57% owned by Liberty Global - the world's largest international TV and broadband company, investing, innovating and empowering people in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to make the most of the digital revolution.

Isabelle Geeraerts

About Telenet

As a provider of entertainment and telecommunication services in Belgium, Telenet Group is always looking for the perfect experience in the digital world for its customers. Under the brand name Telenet, the company focuses on offering digital television, high-speed Internet and fixed and mobile telephony services to residential customers in Flanders, Brussels and a part of Wallonia (Botte du Hainaut). Under the brand name BASE, it supplies mobile telephony in Belgium.

The Telenet Business department serves the business market in Belgium and Luxembourg with connectivity, hosting and security solutions. More than 3,000 employees have one aim in mind: making living and working easier and more pleasant.

Telenet Group is part of Telenet Group Holding NV and is quoted on Euronext Brussel under ticker symbol TNET. For more information, visit www.telenet.be. Telenet is 58% owned by Liberty Global - the world's largest international TV and broadband company, investing, innovating and empowering people in more than 10 countries across Europe to make the most of the digital revolution.